America's Most Wanted is an American television program[1][2] that was produced by 20th Television. At the time of its cancellation by the Fox television network in June 2011, it was the longest-running program in the network's history (25 seasons), a mark since surpassed by The Simpsons. The show started off as a half-hour program on February 7, 1988. In 1990, the show's format was changed from 30 minutes to 60 minutes. The show's format was reverted to 30 minutes in 1995, and then back to 60 minutes in 1996. A short-lived syndicated spinoff titled America's Most Wanted: Final Justice aired during the 1995-96 season.

The following September, the show's host, John Walsh, announced that it would resume later that year on the cable network Lifetime.[3] After a brief run on Lifetime, however, on March 28, 2013, the show was cancelled again.[4] This was reportedly due to low ratings and the level of royalty payments to Fox, which holds the trademark and copyright. It was succeeded by John Walsh Investigates, a one-off special on Lifetime.

The show featured re-enactments of dangerous fugitives who are portrayed by actors, interspersed with on-camera interviews, with Walsh in a voiceover narration. Each episode also featured photographs of dangerous fugitives, as well a toll-free hotline number where viewers could give information at 1-800-CRIME-TV. On May 2, 2008, the program's website announced its 1,000th capture; as of March 30, 2013, 1,202 people have been captured because of AMW. Many of the series' cases have some connection outside the United States or have not taken place in the United States at all. The series' first international capture was in Nova Scotia in 1989. With Walsh at the helm, America's Most Wanted began to broaden its scope. In addition to the regular segments narrated by Walsh, the show began to make room for more segments and correspondents.

The first two-hour quarterly special aired on Saturday, October 29, 2011, on FOX.[5] The second two-hour special aired on Saturday, December 17, 2011, the third two-hour special aired on Saturday, February 11, 2012, and the fourth and final two-hour special aired on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

History

Conception and early airing

The concept for America's Most Wanted originally came from a German show, Aktenzeichen XY ... ungelöst (German for File Reference XY ... Unsolved), that first aired in 1967, and the British show Crimewatch, first aired in 1984, with the US version conceived by Fox executive Stephen Chao and executive producer Michael Linder in the summer of 1987. Even earlier, however, CBS aired a three-month half-hour similar series hosted by Walter McGraw in the 1955–1956 season entitled Wanted.

John Walsh presenting another fugitive

While Linder was shooting the pilot episode in Indiana, Chao and Fox attorney Tom Herwitz conducted a hurried search for a host. Chao's first choice was former police officer and best-selling author Joseph Wambaugh, but Wambaugh refused, saying he did not believe a national dragnet would work in the United States. Chao also considered asking then-recently resigned U.S. Attorney (and future New York City mayor) Rudolph Giuliani, former Virginia governor Chuck Robb, and former Oklahoma governor Bob Curry before deciding a politician might use the show as a platform for personal political ambitions. Other potential candidates included former Marine Corps Commandant General P. X. Kelly, journalists Linda Ellerbee and Bob Woodward, and victims' advocate Theresa Saldana. Then, during a marathon telephone conference call, Herwitz suggested John Walsh. Walsh had gained publicity after his six-year-old son, Adam Walsh, was kidnapped and murdered in 1981. The crime had been the subject of the 1983 television film Adam, and Walsh's later advocacy had resulted in new legislation to protect missing children, as well as the creation of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. After lengthy discussions, Walsh agreed to host the pilot episode.[7]

America's Most Wanted debuted as a half-hour program on February 7, 1988, on seven Fox-owned stations. Within four days of the first broadcast, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive David James Roberts was captured as a direct result.[8] He was a convicted killer who had recently escaped from prison by digging his way out with a small axe. This demonstrated the effectiveness of the show's "Watch Television, Catch Criminals" premise to skeptical law enforcement agencies. Ten weeks later, the program premiered nationwide on the Fox network and became the fledgling network's first hit series. In 1990, the show's format was changed from 30 to 60 minutes. The show was cut back to 30 minutes in 1995, and back to 60 minutes in 1996. From 1995 to 1996, a short-lived syndicated spinoff titled America's Most Wanted: Final Justice aired.

The announcer heard on the show from 1996 to 2008 was the late voiceover artist Don LaFontaine. The first new episode aired after his death was dedicated to him. He was replaced by voice actor Wes Johnson, who served in the role until end of the show's run.

Logos
The show's first logo ran from 1988 to 1990, which consisted of an eagle sitting on a tree branch in a circle, with lines, stars, and zigzags below, and it has "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED" written on it. The show's second and final logo ran from 1990 to 2012, which was used for the rest of the show's run. In 1996, the show was retitled America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back, which ran until 2003.

1996 cancellation and revival

The program was cancelled[9] for a month and a half in the fall of 1996, per a decision made the previous spring in the wake of high production costs. In its place, Fox moved Married... with Children (then entering what soon became its final season) to 9/8c, with the new sitcom Love and Marriage following it at 9:30. Cops remained in its hour-long 8/7c block. However, protests from the public, law enforcement, and government officials, including the governors of 37 states, encouraged Fox to bring the show back, though low ratings for Married... and Love and Marriage ultimately sealed the return of AMW. Love and Marriage was cancelled, and Married... was moved back to Sundays. In 1996, the show was retitled America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back, which ran until 2003. For the 15 years afterward, the America's Most Wanted/COPS combination made Saturday evening Fox’s most stable night, along with the longest unchanged primetime schedule on American television as of 2011.

On March 6, 2010, Fox aired the 1000th episode of America's Most Wanted, and Walsh interviewed then PresidentBarack Obama at the White House. In the interview, they discussed the Obama Administration's crime-fighting initiatives, and the impact the show has had on law enforcement and crime prevention.[10]

Covering criminals in the war on terrorism

The show expanded its focus to also cover criminals in the War on Terror when, on October 12, 2001, an episode aired featuring 22 most-wanted terrorists. The show was put together due to a request by White House aides after the same list of men had been released to the nation two days earlier.[11] However, the first show that focused mainly on terrorism aired after the September 11 attacks and was two hours long.[12]

On May 16, 2011, Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly announced that after 23 years, America's Most Wanted, in its weekly format, would be cancelled.[13] The final weekly episode aired on June 18, 2011, though Reilly said four 2-hour specials would air on Fox in the fall 2011 television season. However, Walsh said he was looking to other networks to keep the show going, saying he had "many, many offers" from other networks.[13]Fox News Channel confirmed that its chairman Roger Ailes had been in preliminary discussions with Walsh about bringing the show to Fox News, but said "nothing has been decided."[13] On the final Fox episode, Walsh promised to continue the show elsewhere and told the Associated Press: "I want to catch bad guys and find missing children—and we’re not done."[13]

During the 2010–2011 season, the show averaged an audience of five million.[13] Within hours of Fox's announcement of the show's cancellation, campaigns to save the show were started by fans through Facebook and Twitter, among other social networking sites.[14]

In September 2011, Lifetime was announced to have picked up America's Most Wanted from Fox and it began airing on the former on December 2, 2011.[15] On March 13, 2012, Lifetime ordered an additional 20 episodes.[16] However, on March 28, 2013, Lifetime announced it had cancelled America's Most Wanted.[17]

Hotline number facts

When America's Most Wanted debuted, the show's first toll-freehotline number was 1-800-CRIME-88, 1-800-274-6388, using a phoneword for "CRIME". The last two digits of the hotline number changed each year between 1989 and 1993 at the start of the new year until 1994, when 1-800-274-6388 was reinstituted permanently as the hotline number, with "88" now standing for "TV", making the final number read as 1-800-CRIME-TV. Both the hotline and the AMW website were shut down shortly after the end of production.

AMW Dirty Dozen

The AMW Dirty Dozen was John Walsh's list of notorious fugitives who had been profiled on the show who were at that time at large. It was similar in function, though not identical with, the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list; four of the Dirty Dozen are on the FBI's list.

Currently, these are the remaining fugitive from the Dirty Dozen:

Jason Derek Brown is wanted for the murder of an armored-car driver and robbery of $56,000 in front of a movie theater in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 29, 2004. He is charged in Phoenix with first-degree murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He is believed to be in either British Columbia or Mexico. On December 8, 2007, Brown was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List.[18]

Jose Fernando Corona is wanted out of Lewisville, Texas, for brutally murdering his wife with a chainsaw on April 26, 2010. The murder has shaken the quiet community to the core, particularly his daughter with whom he was close. Despite no criminal record, the otherwise mild-mannered father of six had a nervous breakdown and carried out this grisly act that was considered atypical of his character. Corona has since been on the run from the law, possibly hiding out with his friends in Friona.[19]

Berny Figueroa is wanted for the murder of 2-year-old Alexia Lopez in Brenham, Texas. On March 11, 2008, Figueroa punched Lopez in the stomach, separating her large and small intestines at the daycare facility where Figueroa worked.[20]

Robert Fisher is wanted for the murder of his wife, Mary, and his children, Brittany and Bobby Jr., in Scottsdale, Arizona, on April 10, 2001, and then burning down their house to try to cover up the crime. He is also on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List and is considered to be AMW's Public Enemy Number One.[21]

Alexis Flores is wanted for the kidnapping and murder of 5-year-old Ariana DeJesus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in July 2000. The DNA match returned in March 2007. Flores was also placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on June 2, 2007.[22]

Elby Hars is wanted for sexually abusing young girls in Columbia, South Carolina. He had previously served time for sexually abusing his own daughter, Terri Hars. When he was released, he found young girls to abuse, leading to him going to prison.[23]

Daniel Hiers is wanted for the murder of his wife, Ludimila Hiers, in Goose Creek, South Carolina, in March 2005. He is also wanted for sexually abusing a child in Charleston, South Carolina, shortly before. Hiers, a former police officer, is on the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted List, and they are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture.[24]

Yaser Abdel Said is wanted for shooting his two teenaged daughters to death in an "honor killing" on January 1, 2008, in Irving, Texas. He is also wanted for questioning in the girls' sexual abuse nearly a decade prior. He was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List on December 4, 2014.[25]

Andre Neverson was arrested in 2018.[26] William Joseph Greer was arrested in 2017.[27] Paul Jackson was arrested in 2015.[28] Resort killer Beacher Ferrel Hackney was removed after his body was discovered in September 2012.[29]

Presumption of innocence

Given that a significant number of the fugitives on America's Most Wanted had yet to face trial in a criminal court, the show adhered to the presumption of innocence as afforded under the law. For this reason, in the cases where fugitives had not yet been convicted, John Walsh would always proceed his narrative of the crime with the term "Police say ...", "According to police...", or a similar term followed by a description of the crime that the person had allegedly committed. In a special broadcast after the September 11 attacks, Walsh technically broke the show's own rules regarding innocence presumption when he said "Let's catch the bastards that did this!" in reference to the 9/11 masterminds.[30]

In a handful of rare cases, America's Most Wanted profiled persons who were involved in controversial cases or who had fled to avoid prosecution on what they believed to be unfair or even framed charges. One female fugitive, who had fled to Canada, later had charges against her dismissed even after being profiled on the show. In another case, a judge ordered a change of venue for a suspected child murderer after learning that nearly the entire county had seen the suspect profiled on America's Most Wanted and believed him guilty. During its entire run, Walsh refused to ever issue a retraction, and never updated viewers on any fugitives who were later found not guilty of the crimes to which they had been profiled.[31][32]

Timeline

1988: America's Most Wanted debuted as a half-hour program on Fox, with David James Roberts as the show's first fugitive. The show originally aired on Sunday nights at 8:00/7:00c.

1989: The show marks its first international capture from Nova Scotia.

1990: The 100th episode of America's Most Wanted airs. The show moved to Friday nights at 9:00/8:00c. The show introduced a brand new logo, and the format changed from 30 minutes to 60 minutes. Original executive producer Michael Linder leaves the show, and Lance Heflin became executive producer.

1992: The 200th episode of America's Most Wanted airs.

1994: The 300th episode of America's Most Wanted airs. The show moved to Saturday nights at 9:00/8:00c.

1995: The show's format changed back to 30 minutes. America's Most Wanted: Final Justice debuts.

1996: The 400th episode of America's Most Wanted airs. America's Most Wanted: Final Justice ends. The show's format changed back to 60 minutes, and was retitled America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back, which stayed until 2003.

1998: The 500th episode of America's Most Wanted airs.

2000: The 600th episode of America's Most Wanted airs.

2002: The 700th episode of America's Most Wanted airs.

2003: The show was reverted to America's Most Wanted, which would be used for the rest of the show's run.

2005: The 800th episode of America's Most Wanted airs.

2006: The 900th episode of America's Most Wanted airs.

2010: The 1,000th episode of America's Most Wanted airs.

2011: The last episode of America's Most Wanted airs on Fox. The show moved from Fox to Lifetime on Friday nights at 9:00/8:00c, which stayed until the end of the series in 2012.

In popular culture

The Simpsons season-one episode "Some Enchanted Evening" featured a parody of America's Most Wanted called "America's Most Armed and Dangerous". At the time, the Simpson kids were watching a profile of Ms. Botz, their babysitter, airs on the program and includes a hotline similar to America's Most Wanted. Ms. Botz is profiled as the Babysitter Bandit.

John Walsh later appeared in a fictitious version of America's Most Wanted titled Springfield's Most Wanted that was designed to serve as a lead-in to the resolution to the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" cliffhanger from the end of season six.

In season six of The Golden Girls, the fictitious mobster the Cheese Man boasts that his most recent appearance on America's Most Wanted was the highest-rated episode ever.